The councilors want to see a range of data analyzed including the tax base, total annual expenses, staffing levels and general fund expenses.

The goal is not necessarily to copy how those communities are run, but to learn how taxes can be lowered and expenses reduced.

"There's folks that are worried that we are not exactly the same as Rochester, we are not exactly the same as Bloomington. And so, this is not going to be a fair comparison. And I will say you're right this will not be. This will not be an apples to apples comparison. But I think you can and especially as a council, we have a enough knowledge of our own city to be able to extract the data that does make sense," Dan Hartman, a Duluth City Council Member, said.

The data will be obtained by city of Duluth economic development and finance teams and will not include any additional expenses.

Councilor Dan Hartman says the comparative data will be released in July before city officials begin planning the 2014 budget.